Kookmin Bank Partners with Citi for International Payments Processing

Hong Kong – Citi’s Bank Services Group, a division of Global Transaction Services, has been selected by South Korea’s Kookmin Bank to enhance its international payments capabilities globally with Citi’s International Payments Processing solution that supports a variety of exotic currencies.

KookMin Bank will receive substantial payment enhancements by partnering with Citi. In particular, the partnership will enable significant efficiency improvements in terms of reconciliation and reporting, while also catering to the international requirements of its increasingly sophisticated client base. As a further benefit, KookMin Bank will realize substantial cost benefits resulting from rationalizing expensive nostro accounts.

Initially, Citi will provide KookMin Bank with international payments support in selected markets, covering a range of exotic currencies. Once implementation has been completed, Kookmin Bank plans to extend this service to additional currencies.

Citi’s International Payments Processing helps banks and corporations to streamline the issuance of paper-based and electronic payments to parties around the world and automate the related foreign exchange. The non-account based solution enables cross-border payments in over 135 currencies via SWIFT or Citi’s award-winning electronic banking platform, CitiDirect®. International Payments is also available in a white label package for banks to offer as a service to their corporate clients.

Akash Rathke, Managing Director, Regional Head of Bank Services and Public Sector Group, Asia Pacific, Citi said, “KookMin Bank has long been one of Asia Pacific’s most progressive financial institutions in terms of the services it provides its clients and in the bank’s ability to ‘think outside the box.’ By partnering with Citi, KookMin Bank has proven its commitment to servicing its increasingly international client base while controlling its costs and risks.”